Archive for the ‘mantras’ Category

I remember the nervousness I felt as an expectant mother. The first time around it was the sheer unknown that kept me awake wondering how I’d get through the birth of my daughter. With my son it was the fear that his birth would be drastically different than my daughter’s because I felt like her birth went so well.

Every birth is different and I prepared for their births differently too. With each pregnancy I latched on (ha ha!) to a few phrases or ideas that helped calm my fears and empower me. With my daughter’s birth it was something my wonderful doula said to me about birth being both work and rest. That made a big impact on me. There was another phrase she mentioned about labor being rhythmic and that really made me feel like if I could find the rhythm, I’d get through labor. With my son I found comfort in reminding myself that women have been birthing for generations and generations. Women were laboring all over the world with me at the same time.

Many of these thoughts were incorporated into the Birth Mantras cards – our newest product at mama mantras. This set of 16 birth mantras is perfect for preparing for birth. The mantras help alleviate worries and empower expecting mothers. It’s a bit like having your doctor/midwife, doula, mom, best friend and husband all rolled up into one. These are the phrases that will get you through the worries and then, during labor, the things you’ll repeat to yourself over and over as you birth your new baby.

The Birth Mantras are available now. Get them for yourself, pregnant friends or, if you’re a midwife or doula, for your clients.

This is one of my favorite mantras in our parenting card set, mostly because it always make me giggle a little.

Let me set the scene a little bit:
I work from home 3 days a week, and occasionally, I’m flying on my own, no helper for the kids and a full-time job to attend to. Needless to say, it can get a little hectic from time to time. Throw in some brotherly love (read: fighting) between my sons and this mama can get downright exhausted and testy. Quickly.

When I get to that point, this mantra always comes to mind. It’s OK to set my boys up with a safe, fun activity for a few minutes and steal away to the bathroom. (Moms get to pee too, right?) I can use that time to get a few deep breaths, collect myself and formulate a plan for getting through the next few hours. While I’m in there, I’ll flip through my mama mantras cards to get a little more inspiration to help me be the best mom I can, and still survive the day.

This is a quote from the editor of Mothering Magazine, Peggy O’Mara. Peggy O’Mara’s writing is full of gems but this one really struck a chord in me the first time I heard it. I read it and just felt it in my heart.

I struggle, personally, with my quick, sharp tongue so this mantra is one I lean on regularly. I have a tendency to snap when I’m stressed, tired or feel pulled in a million different directions. (As a mother when do we not feel this way?) As my oldest child, now 3.5, has gotten older I have seen the sad look that crosses her face when my tone gets harsh or a comment isn’t carefully thought out. I try to cover quickly and smooth things over but the hurt is still there and it takes a little while for both of us to get back to normal. I don’t want to happen!

Think back to your childhood and the things you remember your parents saying and how they said it. Did that voice, a critical comment or the repeated labeling echo in your head years later? It’s so true!

I don’t want my nagging voice or rushed, negative energy to fill my children’s heads and have it echo there until they need years of therapy to erase it. I don’t want my tendency to be snappy when I’m stressed to impact the way they live their lives or think of themselves. Keeping this quote in my head as a mama mantra makes me think not only of what I say but how I say it – the tone, the sharpness, the lightness, the playfulness, the coolness or the warmth that carry my words to my child.

“The way you speak to your child becomes their inner voice” is one of the great mantras found in our first set of cards. I hope you find inspiration in it as it is one that I feel is especially helpful and meaningful.